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The first patent issued in New Zealand was for flax-beating machinery. The drawings shown here illustrated the different kinds of beaters that would be used. Granted in 1861, the application by Arthur Purchas and James Ninnis described the machinery as being based on the principle of ‘percussion’, which would be applied by beaters, hammers, 'beetles' or stampers to the flax in a fresh or macerated (chewed-up) state, with or without water.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Reference: Photo-lithographs illustrating specifications of inventions. Wellington: Government Printing Office, 1874, p. 1 (B-K-1111-1)
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.